Tolerance cannot be measured in terms of degrees of intolerance. I am essentially opposed to burning books even when they incite others to violence. But freedom is either an absolute or it is conditioned on not inciting others to violence. Anything else is rationalized bigotry.

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Peace in Our Time?

The State of Israel released 26
murderers. Some Israelis will justify this with reference to the ongoing conflict
since a situation of enduring warfare creates inequality between peoples which
cannot be resolved without the achievement of peace.Many in the Muslim world will celebrate the
release of murderers.Far too many in
the Western World (particularly within the anti-Zionist Left) will delight in
this concession granted to the Palestinian Authority, ostensibly because unequal
justice is no justice at all.

Benjamin Netanyahu and his
cabinet agreed the move for political reasons. Abu Mazen in his turn did not
demand as pre-conditions for negotiation either a return to the 1967 borders or
a construction freeze.Israel held him to his word by announcing prior
to the commencement of negotiations the construction of 800 housing units in Jerusalem and a further 1,200 within Judea and Samaria.

Perhaps the ultra-orthodox are
more far sighted than we thought.If
peace talks fail they will be the only political force in Israel that
retains any credibility.

Is it reasonable to assume
failure for this latest round of negotiations (the first in three years) even
as they have barely begun?If peace were
hopes then success would be guaranteed in spite of any obstacles. Polls on both sides have consistently
supported the talks by a margin of two to one. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4417563,00.htmlCourage is a pivotal requirement for both
sides and peace will not be achievable without it. But the greatest danger
facing both sides is incitement – it shows failure of nerve. So where are the
pitfalls?

Palestinians never cease to
incite hatred of Israel’s
Jewish population while promoting maximalist demands reminiscent of previous
Jew-haters throughout history. Mr. Abbas
tells the world that his country will be Judenrein (Clean of Jews).At the end of July 2013 he reiterated this point
(according to Reuters) in a briefing he gave to mostly Egyptian journalists.

Such tactics are not intended to
encourage faith in negotiations. Fatah recently honored jailed Fatah Leader Marwan
Barghouti because he had killed “61 Zionists”. When we glorify killers we also send out a
message.Sticks and stones will break
your bones but with words begin the slaughter.

President Mahmoud Abbas received
his doctorate by denying the holocaust and associating Zionism with
Nazism.He later justified his position
with reference to the ongoing state of war between the two peoples (Jews and
Muslims?) and “in 2013 he reasserted the veracity of the contents of his thesis”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Abbas

That said, is it credible to
announce the expansion of Israeli construction within “disputed territories”
even though in most Arab/Muslim eyes all of Israel is disputed territory? Realistically,
the world will soon forget that Israel
released 26 murderers as a “gesture of reconciliation” and blame us for (to use
yet another former Nazi expression) our “Judaization” of Arab (Palestinian) land.

Realistically, the way to a
conclusion of successful negotiation is not through making further concessions
(even prisoner releases) to a holocaust denying President but by applying
pressure through his fellow Arab and Muslim leaders around the world.

Israel has a case for its defense and
it is time to trumpet it loud and clear. Blame, if it is not Arab, is ours, and
frankly, that is not an option we should accept. It is naive to believe at this
time, in compromising on our history because the current global narrative does
not accept the original sin of Palestinian dislocation. Our conflict begins
long before 1948 and it is a weapon of Arab and Muslim prejudice that has
enabled them to rule us all with fear for too long.

For Israel to get Palestinian attention
the Arab world must appreciate that they have the potential for significant losses
– both spiritual and material - if they continue to use the conflict as an
excuse to extort from the West rights and privileges that no other people
receive.Islam is a political theology,
like communism, only of considerably greater vintage. And like communism it has
grown by conquest, by terror and by waging a relentless propaganda war that
mocks its rivals as it creates fear in them.If Muslims scream hatred from the political and religious pulpit then peace
is not possible, except as a sham.Throughout its history Trojan Horses have taken many forms. ‘Religion of
Peace’ is one of the memes used by Islam and its western apologists.

Pressure from brother Arab
nations and the worldwide Muslim community can
create a momentum for change in the Palestinian leadership if the same bad
press begins to attach to them, by association.

It is even possible that
theological Nazis such as Hamas could be terminally muzzled, but for that to
happen Israel
must start to consider the end game.That
starts with fighting the propaganda war. And nothing that I have either read or
heard would indicate that Jerusalem
has the faintest idea of how to even create the conditions under which we may
approach the starting point of an end game.